Traditions of the Market
by TigressDreamer
Summary: {Strange Magic Week - Day 1: To Market, To Market} Marianne is both nervous and thrilled when Bog invites her to the opening day of the Dark Forest Market. Nervous, because she still felt responsible for the whole Love Potion fiasco of a few weeks ago and thrilled, because it was a new adventure with her love. But was there something that the Bog King forgot?


**Disclaimer for the story: Sadly, I do not own Strange Magic, although I do have the DVD that I play once a week.**

 **Decided to try my hand at this with the hope that it will help with my fight against my present work-in-progress that doesn't want to behave. I started this yesterday but sleep demanded its due by 1 am, so I had to wait until today to post this. Constructive advice is appreciated but please refrain from criticism. Enjoy!**

 **(Slight edit as of December 18, 2019)**

Of all the things Marianne was expecting when Bog invited her to join him during his duties at the opening day of the Dark Forest Market, this was not one of them. It was so...quiet, well compared to any day of the Light Field Market, anyway. The penned mice, chipmunks, and squirrels squeaked their complaints at being shut in and the harnessed dragonflies buzzed with restless energy but the vendors weren't shouting out their wares nor were the buyers haggling loudly.

"Is it always like this?" Marianne questions, afraid that her presence was unwelcome.

"Not really," Bog admits. "The breeders had a good year and requested that I allow them to sell more of their stock at the market. I thought it would be a good idea at the time but now I'm not so sure. I'm sorry about the noise. You don't have to stay if it bothers you."

Marianne stares at the goblin king in shock. He thought it was noisy! Her bewilderment only grows as one of the vendors runs up to the royal couple with a platter with one pastry and offers it up to the king. Bog grabs the pastry and hums in delight as he takes a large bite. The goblin's blush at the vendor's expectant look almost makes her laugh until he offers the rest of it to her. The already quiet market seems to become quieter and Marianne can feel the looks of every forest denizen on her. Not wanting to make either of them look like a fool in front of his subjects, she opens her mouth with her own blush as her suitor feeds her the, admittedly delicious, pastry. The delighted twitters from the forest fae nearly drown the animals' chatters.

"I'm so sorry, Marianne. I forgot about that tradition," Bog admits bashfully. "Usually the first cake is just mine but since we're...you know...courting and I invited you...well...it's..."

"Bog, it's fine," Marianne reassures, her sunburnt cheeks not agreeing with her. "I would like an explanation on why they're so excited though."

"Well...," Bog starts, his ears bright red.

"Oh, I'm so happy!" Griselda squeals, barreling into and hugging her son's waist. "You're just like your father, so romantic and not one to waste any time! When am I getting grandkids?"

If Marianne wasn't dealing with her own embarrassment at the queen mother's comments then she would have marveled at how even Bog's wings seemed to turn red. With quick movements born from experience, the taller goblin escapes his mother's grasp and pulls the fairy princess through the market grounds.

Bog's promise to explain later appeases Marianne temporarily, barely managing to stop her from dragging her goblin away and beating the answers out of him if necessary. One inner voice, sounding remarkably like her father, warns her that actions made in haste cause a lot of damage and offers the reminder of the collapsed castle not too far away. The other voice, weirdy sounding like Sugar Plum, however, mentions that such actions have very, very, very nice rewards sometimes with the reminder of when Bog and her escaped that morning to fall asleep curled around each other. Marianne's dazed expression doesn't escape her watchful guide.

"Are you alright, Marianne?" Bog asks worriedly. "Is it too loud? Do you need to leave?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm alright, Bog. I was just thinking about another morning, one a few weeks ago," Marianne hints, smiling as the fearsome king's blush returns. "Where to next?"

Never had she thought that she was one for jewelry but gazing down at the beautiful wares being displayed, Marianne can definitely understand where the high-ranking woman of her kingdom gets their obsessions. The vendors beam at her praise and one of them pulls out a satchel from under the table, handing it to Bog.

"For the queen, Your Majesty," the sprite buzzes out.

Bog opens the satchel to reveal a stunning necklace made of polished wood. The seemingly delicate and intricate lines curve like a briar patch around the small pieces of amber in an endless circle. With closer inspection, Marianne realizes that the object couldn't be a necklace as it had no fasteners but with the mention of the queen and it being decorated with the royal jewel, surely it must be a crown instead. She gazes at the beautiful thing, almost envious of Griselda's gift but the vendor's expectant look makes her notice Bog's returned blush. Her own blush makes a return as Bog's gentle fingers brush back her hair before placing the circlet on her brow.

The next stall was of clothing, an interesting concept Marianne found hard to believe since she had yet to see anyone wearing clothes besides her beau's mother. The exquisite designs make the fairy princess forget her oath from childhood against all things girly-girl as she compliments the seamstress and the tailor. The tailor, a large goblin like Brutus, puffs himself with pride at such praise while his delighted hobgoblin mate ushers the fairy into a covered booth with a wrapped parcel. The fabric feels a little different against her skin than her own clothes as Marianne tries on the offered dress, comfortable but different. Though the dress was similar to her tunic, the deep purple fabric was longer, brushing nearly past her knees and instead of sleeveless, it had short sleeves that flared at her elbow. The marks of gold, or was that amber, complimented her leggings and so did the shades of black but what Marianne liked the most is that it wasn't a dress like she thought, it was actually woven armor and included a sword belt. Looking into the mirror, her eyes widen at the difference the small change makes and Marianne nearly cries at how she looks. Not a love-struck (fooled) princess, not an angry and love-scorned knight, but a warrior queen.

"Where to next, my king?" Marianne questions coyly as she exits the covered booth wearing her new clothes.

Bog's awed and dazed expression makes her inner-girl squeal but a firm hush silences it as Bog leads her to the next stall of wares. The rest of the morning passes with similar incidents with nearly every vendor, though Bog refused to let her try the offered goblin ale and going as far as smacking that vendor with his staff for suggesting it. By the time they reach the dragonfly pens, Marianne nearly forgets that she is the Crown Princess of the Light Field who has been courting the King of the Dark Forest for only three weeks, she could almost believe that she is the Queen of the Dark Forest.

"They're lovely," Marianne comments to the breeder.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," the small goblin remarks, worrying his hands. "I'm afraid that I don't have a gift for you. My beauties wouldn't be a good present, no matter how great they are, what with the two of you winged and all. Forgive me, Your Majesties!"

Marianne looks to Bog worried as the poor fellow starts to cry. His own uneasy expression doesn't give her much hope. The poor goblin was really upset that he didn't have a gift and it was starting to attract attention. Definitely different than the Light Field Market but then again Sunny did have a good cry when he broke the gift he wante...Marianne blinks.

"Actually, I could use a dragonfly," Marianne mentions.

"Really?" the breeder questions hopefully, wiping his tears.

"My sister's suitor is an elf and while he rides a dragonfly very well, he doesn't own one," Marianne hints.

The little goblin beams before running into the paddock and within moments he brings out the perfect dragonfly for Sunny. The gold and black male preens for attention from the royal couple and flashes his wings with pride.

"You handled that very well," Bog compliments as Fang takes the dragonfly to its new owner.

"Thank you," Marianne remarks. "You said that was the last stop for us, so that means that you owe me an overdue explanation."

Marianne laughs as Bog's face erupts in color again, a growl being her only warning before a pair of lips silence her mirth. The returned twittering from the forest denizens cause the pair to break away before taking flight into the surrounding forest. She couldn't remember the last time she felt so truly joyful as Marianne twirls around her suitor, the new dress' fluttering adding a touch of allure to her playful movements. Who would have thought that she could actually feel grateful that Roland showed his true colors and had even managed to trick Sunny into helping him. Of course, some things would have been nice to have been kept from happening though.

"We already had that discussion," Bog reminds firmly, catching her gaze as they land on their favorite spot.

With a sigh, Marianne turns away from the empty riverbed and grins at the familiar flower in Bog's hand. He gently tucks it in her hair between the wooden crown before leaning down for another kiss.

"As delightful as your affections are, almighty Bog King, you're not going to distract me," Marianne murmurs. "I'm happy that your subjects don't hate me for all the chaos and the destruction of the castle but they seemed rather thrilled about me being there, even having gifts for me. That wasn't normal, was it?"

"Not entirely," Bog admits, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's quite normal for gifts to be given to the royal family on the opening day of the market. They give their appreciation and we give our praise. I think Stuff and Thang overheard us when we were discussing this last week while overseeing the construction of the new castle. I don't know how they managed to keep my mother from finding out about you coming but apparently, everyone else heard. It's not normal for anyone to join me during my duties and I forgot the traditions that surrounded that."

"What traditions?" Marianne asks the flustered king.

"Normally...well it's like this...um...please don't get offended," the goblin king stammers, his face a rather becoming shade of red. "You heard my mother's comment and I swear that I hadn't really meant to imply it but..."

"Bog!" Marianne yells. "Calm down!"

Bog takes a deep breath before letting it out slowly, he just knew she was going to punch him or maybe use her sword this time. When would he learn to think things through? Things were going so well, too, and now he messed up again. Of all the things to forget!

"The thing is, I should have had you join Mom but I forgot about what everyone would think of the implications of you joining my side," Bog remarks slowly, keeping his eyes closed against the brewing storm. "As far as all my subjects are concerned..."

"Why did you want me to join your side today?" Marianne interrupts.

"Because I wanted you there," Bog answers softly, his opened blue-eyes glimmering. "I always want you with me, tough girl."

"Then I see no reason that you'd be afraid that I'll be mad at you for your subjects thinking I'm their new queen," Marianne reassures, barely keeping her laughter down at the renewed blushing king. "I'm not stupid, Bog. A crown with the royal jewels that only Dark Forest royalty is allowed to wear and the repeated mentioning of 'queen', I figured it out a while ago that there was something significant about today."

"Only the king and queen walk together during the opening day," Bog admits. "I forgot that my inviting you to join my side was as good as announcing that we are either mated or going to mate soon."

"That's why Griselda asked about grandkids," Marianne murmurs, her own blush making a comeback. "Would it be a bad image for you in front of your subjects if we don't, uh, well you know right away?"

"No, no. That won't cause any trouble, especially since the new castle isn't fully ready yet," Bog comments. "I don't want to press you into anything you aren't ready for, Marianne. I mean, we haven't been courting for more than three weeks and I know you're probably not ready for marriage and..."

Turnabout is fair play as Marianne stops the nervous rambling coming from Bog's soft lips with her own. Of all the things Marianne was expecting when Bog invited her to join him during his duties at the opening day of the Dark Forest Market, this was not one of them.

 **Tea Blend.**


End file.
